But while the Forest City might have numerous reasosn to celebrate, its jobs market isn’t one.

At 6.6% in May, the greater Cleveland metropolitan area’s unemployment rate stands well above the national average for metro areas, which is 6.1%.

Jobs growth over the past 12 months is a meager 0.7%, about a full percentage point below the national average.

It’s that very lack of dynamism that may be a reason the RNC’s convention-site choice — and the eagerness for LeBron James to return — has drawn such attention. The city, like many in the so-called Rust Belt, has been hurt by the downturn in manufacturing. While the automotive sector has seen a recovery, manufacturing more broadly is struggling, as typified by the recent lurch to a record high in the real trade deficit for non-oil goods.